Category: Pub of the Month Winners

We might have just announced all our annual winners but that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about our Pub of the Month competition. This month’s winner, voted for as always by Sheffield & District CAMRA branch members, is a pub that has been a permanent fixture on London Road since the 1780s: the White Lion. The pub last won this award in October 2016 and since then the standards have remained exceptionally high, making them worthy winners yet again. This historic hostelry has a rich past, but current landlords Jon Terry and Mandy Billings have brought the pub into the 21^st century while remaining respectful of its history. In December 2017, they were named the best landlords in the Yorkshire and the Humber region by Punch Taverns, while in 2015 the White Lion was declared the best live music pub in the county. The building itself is Grade II listed and is included on CAMRA’s Yorkshire Regional Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, recognising its sympathetic refurbishments over the years. The entrance corridor was recently the cover star of the hugely popular Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs e-book. Meanwhile, the pub’s position as a community hub was confirmed in November 2016 when it attained Asset of Community Value status. On the beer front, there are four regular cask ales on offer, with a mixture of local and national breweries featured. Abbeydale Moonshine is always available, while the house beer, Lion’s Main, is brewed by Kelham Island. Wychwood Hobgoblin and Tetley Bitter are also regulars on the pumps. Additionally, there are up to eight changing guest beers which often include an interesting range of styles such as stouts and IPAs. We will be presenting the award to the White Lion on Tuesday 8 May, arriving from 8pm onwards for a presentation around 9pm. The pub is located at 615 London Road, S2 4HT, and is well-served by buses (routes 10, 20, 24, 25, 43, 44, X17 all stop nearby). We hope you can join us! Dominic Nelson

Regular readers will know that each month we try to recognise one pub in our branch area that follows CAMRA’s principles of serving high quality real ale and cider in welcoming and friendly surroundings. Every Pub of the Month is voted for by our branch members, and with voting having been so popular recently we have had a backlog of pubs waiting to receive their awards. Therefore, we have known for a couple of months now that our Pub of the Month winner for April 2018 would be a first-time winner of the accolade. The Ale House, tucked away on Fraser Road in between Millhouses and Woodseats, is a thriving community-run pub with a consistenly good range of reasonably priced real ale. There are up to six cask lines on offer at any time, the regular Saltaire Blonde plus five guest ales. These often feature small breweries from around Yorkshire and the East Midlands, such as Malton’s Bad Seed and Derby’s Dancing Duck. Being a community pub there are regular events taking place, including live music and singing nights, a pub quiz on Thursday evenings and home-cooked food available from 6pm every Friday. We will be visiting the Ale House to present the award on Tuesday 10 April and all are welcome to join us. As usual, we will be arriving from around 8pm for a presentation around 9pm. For those travelling by public transport, the number 86 stops on Archer Road, around 150 yards from the pub. We hope to see you there! Dominic Nelson

This month’s Pub of the Month winner, as voted for by our members, is a pub well-known around the Sheffield real ale scene. The Rutland Arms on Brown Street is a city-centre haven for beer drinkers, with seven cask ales on offer (including regulars from local brewery Blue Bee), plus up to two real ciders, seven craft keg lines and a range of lagers. To top it all off, there’s also a legendary food menu. The Rutland is a small, traditional pub with the tiled exterior and windows (most of them) saved from its days as a multi-room Gilmour’s pub. There is also a comfortable, heated beer garden out the back. Despite the classic characteristics, the atmosphere is helped by a changing exhibition of art on the walls and a jukebox with a list of banned songs to be ignored at your peril! There’s a fairly young, fun and friendly team behind the bar, and a great team in the kitchen too. Food is served until 9pm every day except Sunday, when the kitchen closes at 6pm. The pub hosts regular events, such as tap takeovers and Christmas parties, and has a very active social media presence to keep its punters up-to-date on the latest goings-on. We’ll be presenting the Pub of the Month winner’s certificate to the Rutland team on the evening of Tuesday 13 March. Everyone is welcome to join us on the night; we’ll be arriving from around 8ish for a presentation at about 9pm.

Our Pub of the Month winner for February 2018, voted for as always by CAMRA members, is a pub that needs little introduction. Since being refurbished and reopened as a freehouse in 2000 by James Birkett (who also owns the Wellington at Shalesmoor and the Blake Hotel in Walkley), the Sheaf View in Heeley has won our monthly award several times, most recently back in June 2015. Anyone who has visited the Sheaf View will know that the priority here is the provision of high-quality drinks, especially real ales. Kelham Island’s Easy Rider is always available, as well as a seasonal beer from Neepsend Brewery and a selection of up to six guests from around Yorkshire (and further afield) on offer at any time. The pub is decorated with a fantastic range of brewing memorabilia and the layout, including the conservatory to the rear, provides the ideal setting to drink and relax. As well as cask ales, there is an extensive selection of bottled beers available, including several Belgian beers, at least one real cider and a good selection of Scotch malt whiskies. A regular entry in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, the Sheaf View attracts real ale aficionados from all over the country and is popular with Sheffield United fans, so it can get quite busy on match days. There is also a well-attended pub quiz which takes place every Wednesday evening. The award celebration will take place on Tuesday 13 February, with the presentation of the certificate around 9pm. For those travelling by public transport, the pub is 200 yards from Gleadless Road bus stop on London Road (routes 10, 20, 25, 43 and 44), or about the same distance from Richards Road stop (routes 18, 19 and 56). We look forward to seeing you there.

We are delighted to announce that our first Pub of the Month award for 2018 goes to one of the more remote pubs in our branch area, the Eyre Arms in Hassop. In reaching the required 10 votes, it has become the first of our Derbyshire pubs to win the award since the Angler’s Rest in Bamford did so back in April 2015. This 300-year-old ale house has hardly changed over the centuries, and still features the impressive arms of the Eyre family above an open fireplace. It is a true country pub, with a cosy interior, immaculate beer garden and high-quality, home-cooked food – not forgetting the real ale on offer. The bar features regular cask beers from Derby’s Brunswick Brewery and the Peak District’s own Peak Ales alongside up to two guest beers, which often include Sheffield breweries such as Bradfield and Kelham Island. At the time of going to print, the date of the presentation is yet to be arranged although owing to the pub’s rural location it is likely we will arrange a minibus for one Saturday in January, weather permitting. Keep an eye out on our website and social media channels for more information. Dominic Nelson

Every month (votes permitting), we try to recognise one pub in the Sheffield & District CAMRA branch area that consistently serves high-quality real ale in a pleasant environment. We are pleased to reveal that our Pub of the Month award for December 2017 goes to one of the newer pubs in the city centre, the Head of Steam on Norfolk Street. In a building that started out life as a bank before becoming a pub (previous incarnations include the Fraternity House and the Old Monk), the Head of Steam is part of a chain of similarly branded pubs owned by the Hartlepool-based Camerons Brewery and was opened in its current guise on 14 April 2016. With up to 10 real ales and ciders, generally a mixture of the brewery’s own offerings plus guest beers from around Yorkshire, there’s plenty of choice for drinkers. CAMRA members enjoy a discount of 20p per pint on all cask ales. The pub also offers a wide selection of craft keg beers and an extensive range of bottled continental brews and there’s plenty of food available, with modern takes on pub classics alongside a few more exotic choices. You can join us for the award presentation at the Head of Steam on Tuesday 12 December, arriving from around 8pm for a presentation about an hour later. With the Arundel Gate bus interchange just around the corner, there are plenty of options for public transport, and it is also the last social before Christmas so we are hoping for a good turnout. See you there! Dominic Nelson

As always, it is a pleasure to reveal our Pub of the Month award winner for November. This month’s recipient is the Railway Hotel on Bramall Lane, a first-time winner of the accolade. Taken over and comprehensively refurbished by Jack Cater and his family in 2015, the Railway has shed its former identity as a “football pub” and established a reputation for serving a good selection of real ales at reasonable prices in friendly and relaxing surroundings. On the pumps, you will find five rotating cask beers, often showcasing local breweries such as Abbeydale, Kelham Island and Acorn. CAMRA members receive a very generous discount of 30p per pint. Draught cider is also available, along with a range of bottled world beers. A pub quiz is held every Thursday evening. The pub was nominated for the award by Sheffield & District CAMRA’s social media co-ordinator, Poppy Hayhurst: “I had recently relocated to Sheffield and at first found it difficult to orientate myself in the city. On one Monday afternoon on my way back from doing my shopping I got completely lost and being laden with multiple bags tried to find somewhere where I could sit, take a breath and work out where I was! That was the first time I visited the Railway Hotel. Perhaps unsurprisingly at 4pm on a Monday afternoon I was the only person in the pub, but still the barman was really welcoming and sensing my struggle directed me to the outdoor sitting area where he swiftly brought me my pint. It wasn’t until the Beer Census I got the opportunity to revisit the pub, this time on a Saturday afternoon. A few of my friends didn’t share my enthusiasm assuming it would be full of football fans being so close to Bramall Lane, but they all left the pub in agreement that future visits would definitely be on the cards. With a good and varied selection of real ales, kegs and bottles; free retro arcade games; one of the best beer gardens I have been to in Sheffield and a CAMRA discount on all pints of real ale this unassuming little pub really does for me offer it all.” We will be heading to the Railway Hotel to present the award on Tuesday 14 November, arriving from about 8:30pm for a presentation around 9pm. Buses 18, 19 and 252 all stop on Bramall Lane, about 100 metres from the pub. Our Pub of the Month award is voted for by CAMRA members and aims to recognise those pubs around Sheffield that consistently serve quality real ale in a welcoming environment. You can vote or nominate a pub for the award at any branch meeting, or via our website at sheffield.camra.org.uk/potm/vote. Dominic Nelson

Sheffield & District CAMRA are delighted to announce that the winner of the Pub of the Month award for October 2017 is the Itchy Pig Ale House in Broomhill. The Itchy Pig opened its doors in July 2016, taking over a unit formerly occupied by a gift shop, and in the first year of business owner Ted Finlay and his team have developed a reputation for serving excellent ales in a friendly and relaxing environment. There are five handpumps, featuring a range of beers from local breweries such as Abbeydale, Blue Bee and Brew Foundation. Earlier this year, they teamed up with Exit 33 Brewing to produce their very own real ale, StyPA. Ciders and craft keg, canned and bottled beers are also available. Pub regular Andrew Senior, who nominated the Itchy Pig for the award, said: “I used to work very close to the pub and so I started popping in after work. Despite the landlord, Ted, being a southener and preferring Rugby Union to League, he is a very welcoming and friendly host.” “The beer is always well kept, there’s a good range of pig-based bar snacks, and now even pig-themed board games (Pass the Pigs and backgammon). All in all it makes it a very enjoyable place to have a pint.” We are heading to the Itchy Pig to present Ted and the team with their certificate on Tuesday 10 October from 8pm onwards, and everyone is welcome to come and join us for a celebratory pint. The pub can be found at 495 Glossop Road, Sheffield, S10 2QE. Buses 10, 10a and 120 all stop on Glossop Road, and buses 51 and 52 also call nearby. CAMRA members, don’t forget to vote for your next pub of the month! This can be done either through our website at sheffield.camra.org.uk/potm/vote or at any branch meeting. Dominic Nelson

I moved to Kelham Island, Sheffield in November 2011 after a little over 10 years of residence in the fine city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Now, a period of that magnitude does not pass without the establishment of some routines, one of which got the weekend off to an early start with a few pints, a pub quiz and a game of darts at my favourite haunt (The Bodega, Westgate Road). Of course, moving to a new city involves no small amount of upheaval in one’s life, upheaval that I intended to mitigate by the transference of my Thursday routine. So, I sallied forth from my new flat to investigate the numerous new local pubs with some key questions in mind, namely: Is this pub inundated with cask beer? Is there a weekly quiz? Is said quiz on a Thursday? Is there also a dartboard? To my joy I discovered that there was indeed a place that could answer ‘yes’ to all of these questions and the name of that place was Shakespeare’s. Of course, my Thursday quizzing meant that I was a frequent enough visitor to the pub to get acquainted with staff and regulars alike. Indeed, before long I had regained the sense of a genuine pub community that I had, perforce, left behind at The Bodega in Newcastle. Over six years and one ‘Sheffield CAMRA Pub of the Year’ (2013) later, Shakespeare’s is still a public house par excellence, and while it is true that pale ales tend to preponderate amidst the forest of beer engines, variety is also guaranteed with permanent provision of at least one stout or porter, in addition to half a dozen (sometimes more) craft keg beers, the corollary of which is no shortage of sours and imperial stouts, but also a phantasmagoria of IPAs, DIPAs and SIPAs. It’s little wonder that the pub sees such a steady stream of beer tickers flowing through its doors. Beers aside (heaven forefend!), the games foundation of darts has been built upon to include an upstairs games room with bar skittles, bar billiards, table football, board games and a Yorkshire dart board. Upstairs also is their spacious function room which is put to good use hosting gigs, dancing, meetings and parties of all sorts. Of course, staff and regulars have come and gone since the Winter of 2011, but that ineffable sense of pub community has remained untarnished (indeed it is far from unusual to find that staff who move on to work elsewhere are merely transformed from bar workers into regular patrons). Manager Chris and his splendid outfit of beer connoisseurs are more than capable of helping the discerning drinker with their painstaking ‘which next?’ decision. All in all, Shakespeare’s is most worthy ‘Pub of the Month’; a fine place for fine ale served by fine folk in the company of fine people. Patrick Johnson

We are pleased to announce that the Sheffield & District CAMRA Pub of the Month for July 2017, as voted for by our members, is the Wisewood Inn at Loxley. The Wisewood Inn was re-opened in its current guise in October 2015 by owner Steve Wesley and licensee Pete Hebb. They have managed to take a run-down establishment at a difficult time for the pub trade and completely turn it around in 18 months. Their vision was to create a suburban pub that sold great beer, offered an exciting food menu, hosted regular music events and appealed to a large customer base, and they have certainly managed to achieve all these. On the beer front, the Wisewood Inn is Cask Marque accredited and offers a wide range of cask, keg, bottled and canned ales. There are five handpumps installed, with three regular real ales available in Barnsley Bitter, Bradfield Farmers Brown Cow, and an Abbeydale pump. The remaining two pumps have seen guest beers from numerous local and national breweries, and since the re-opening there have been more than 200 different cask and keg ales on offer. The pub also has a fantastic beer garden, perfect for sitting outside and enjoying the view on a warm summer’s day. They are soon to start hosting regular barbecues, so be sure to watch out for those! Funds raised from many of the events hosted have been used to support local business and charities, so it’s all for a good cause. For those wanting to host their own celebrations, there is a cellar bar available for hire. Going forward, the owners are hoping to continue increasing their profile as a good real ale pub, and hopefully start to make it into Sheffield & District CAMRA’s annual Top 20 pubs of the year lists. They are also  planning to extend the kitchen to deal with increased demand, and there are rumours of the pub launching its own on-site micro-brewery, so watch this space! Steve and Pete would like to thank CAMRA, and all the members who voted for the Wisewood Inn  as their Pub of the Month. A huge mention also goes to the staff, suppliers and breweries who have been really supportive, but of course none of this would be possible without the customers who have returned to the pub and made it their regular. CAMRA members, don’t forget to vote for your next Pub of the Month. The list of current nominees can be found in Beer Matters and on our website, or if there’s a pub not on the list that you would like to see recieve some recognition, you can also nominate a pub. All votes and nominations can be made through our website, or at any branch meeting.